The Manic Mechanic

It appears my preparedness for the snow has apparently scared it off. Just a light dusting out there.

Now that it's almost 364 shopping days until Xmas, I don't have to worry much about it for a while. Jeff and I had a relaxing few days. While we did not pimp out the house with lights, we did get into the spirit of the big day by going to see Dickens' A Christmas Carol performed at the Olney Theater on Christmas Eve. Olney Theater is a wonderful local outfit that has been around for decades, and every show I've seen has been very well done. We were in for a little surprise with this show, as it was performed entirely by one man. And if you ask me, it was probably one of the most engaging performances I've seen of the classic. Both of us enjoyed the performance greatly, afterward we headed to our favorite local restaurant/bar Looney's Pub for a nice, (very) informal dinner. A good day overall.

The Big Day was almost as low key, Jeff make our little dinner whilst I tinkered with stuff. I had ordered a new (overkill) video card and (really overkill) power supply for the crazy quad-core PC I had built early in the year but basically flung aside while I took care of house- and garage-oriented projects until my body gave out. If I desire, the new mega-PC can support a hee-yooge desktop/workspace across no less than six displays. While such an endeavor is highly unlikely, I would like to eventually set up a two- or three-display desktop using monitors in portrait configuration. When funds free up, though.

Today we braved the oncoming non-blizzard by taking a quick trip to the grocery store for some goodies, then I occupied my time in the basement workshop doing wiring and installing the new heater. The heater is a definite help, but not as effective as I would like since it basically has to try and heat the entire 36x48 main basement area that the workshop is part of. I have been wanting to wall up the various areas and have been making progress with other upgrades and such that needed to be done before such an undertaking. Perhaps this coming year will allow me the chance of clearing out a huge amount of cruft and beginning the creation of actual spaces rather than one big outrageous mess.

Tomorrow both Jeff and I have medical and financial bizness to take care of. The lack-o snow and accompanying driving insanity will make this happen much easier. This week will be one of more recovery for us both, and we both hope to be somewhat productive around the homestead as well.

I hope everyone reading this had the past few days at least as nice as we did. And here's hoping for a good '11.

Cheers.

It was indeed a merry little Xmas here at the GoM. While Jeff was off at work, I was working both in the garage and in the basement. I needed to make up some spacer blocks for the safety sensors on the new garage door opener, So I rummaged through the scrap lumber and found a suitable piece, cutting and working on the stationary sander and table saw. The wood was southern yellow pine, and few wood odors come close to making the entire area smell like a 'real' workshop. I called it Santa's Workshop for the day. The smell still lingers, and reminds me of days gone by for some reason.

When Jeff got home from work (yeah, I know), we had our exchange of gifts. He got me an L.L. Bean three-in-one parka that I actually had been needing, along with some nice gloves and earmuffs. Since we will be taking a trip up to the Poconos soon to frolic in the snow, he thought this would be the perfect gift. And it was. I needed everything, including the earmuffs, which until now I didnt own. I usually rely of knit caps or tuques to keep my big flappy ears from freezing off. I got Jeff a Chef's Choice meat/food slicer, which he was pretty happy to get. I mean, what do you get a chef for xmas? lol

Jeff is home tomorrow and we plan on being mostly domestic. I might shove the Dart out of the garage and install the second opener. The second time is always much easier. ;)

I hope all of you had a great Xmas day.

It was with a lot of sadness that I saw a good amount of my friends list light up with outpourings of kind words and memories upon Jim/poohbearjim's passing. While I didn't know him or his partner Ray/profkampf except though the comment sections of other entries and Ray's artwork posts, the man obviously touched a lot of lives in a positive way. Jim's death from cancer hit home very hard for me, as any regular reader of my journal could expect. I am still wrestling with feelings of loss and depression since losing my Mom last year. These holidays only amplify those feelings, and I simply wish I could crawl under a rock and sleep away the period from late November to mid February. Way too many days in that time period have big emotional attachments, from the holidays to our birthdays.

Those who have seen me sleep would probably agree that I am fully capable of such a period of hibernation.

Speaking of holidays, it's been several years since there has been a Christmas tree in this house. Mom and I used to have a tree every year, until about eight or nine years ago, when the desire to do all that work for no real reason made us ditch the tree and concentrate instead on decorating outside the house and be minimally festive inside. This year, that has changed. Jeff has been wanting to put up a tree here for a few years now. He somehow managed to convince my Grinch-like self into dragging home a nice Frasier fir and unloading an attic full of decorations this weekend. The tree is up, the house exterior mostly decorated and Jeff is happy. I'm trying my best to measure my feelings with happiness for him and I versus the memories that come pouring in and make me one sad man.

The weather here this weekend was mostly gloomy and nasty, so not much got done outside save for the decorating during the good parts of Saturday. There are five vehicles in the driveway that are each begging for maintenance and other attention, and once again they have gone wanting. Life would be a lot easier if I could reclaim the garage from all the nonsense of tractors, tillers and the rest of the imposing fleet of equipment that needs it's own separate storage facilities. If money permits next year, I might finally build the second 'garage' for all this stuff and reclaim my second home.

We took a ride on Saturday to the place where Jeff will have a new job at the end of this month. A small retirement home nestled in a bucolic rural setting, across from a horse farm. I hope this is where he can be happy and enjoy the work that he is so well suited for, instead of hassles and broken promises in this last one. He deserves that, and more.

This week should be a busy one, I have a lot of catching up to do.

Stephan Pastis must know my thoughts all too well:

If I were the selfish type, I'd be rather pissed right now. But, for the most part I am not selfish in these respects, so I simply remain a bit bummed out right now. Besides, I know when I am doing something for the greater good. That has always been part of my nature.

"Okay, what's he yapping on about now?", I hear from the blogosphere.

As it was at Thanksgiving, Jeff finds himself not having to work on the holiday for the first time in years, and with that, having an opportunity to spend Christmas with his entire family in PA, together, rather than delaying it a day or two, losing the 'effect' in the process. So, rather than doing our usual dinner-here-then-dinner-there, we decided to spend the Holiday weekend with our respective families. Jeff gathered up Bear (the Pomeranian) and took him up to meet the family for the first time. He was an instant hit. Of course, his father, who usually plays the occasional grouch, had an immediate friend in Bear, as the two became inseparable. The kids had a ball, and Jeff and Bear had a wonderful time. Tomorrow for the big day, everyone (14 people) will sit down to one of the first times together in a while.

Now, who am I to stand in the way of that?

While I might be bummed at spending a holiday apart from him, it would be selfish to keep him from all the good stuff that's been going on and has yet to happen. In the meantime, I will be spending a nice, quiet time with Mom, having a nice dinner together and rel;axing. This I need a lot of, considering all I have been through lately.

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one" in this case.

This time of year is all about giving and self-sacrifice, regardless of religious affiliation. It's just what good people do, and have done throughout the centuries. Hearing Jeff and everyone else having such a good time when he called earlier in the day was all worth it to me. It made my day.

I got my gift. I'm not giving him up.

No "blargh" this time. I promised. Too much good stuff happened over the weekend that even a (necessary evil) trip to The Evil Empire (Wal-Mart) could not place a damper upon it. While I am not about to shed my Ebenezer Scrooge title anytime soon, events and actions that would normally occur take on a definite seasonal charm this time of year.

Big news first. Our little family has increased by one...

( Clickie for lots of pictures. WARNING - Excessive cuteness ahead. )